A game we played
by Dinner
Summary: You can only relive your life so many times before you stop taking it serious. This is my take on the time-loop! Imagine a universe where three children use the world as a playboard, where the rules were created and enforced by a man that goes by the name of... well you've got to read chapter two for that one.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Still working on HP & the cloaked death... but had to start on this story. Not sure how often it will be updated. Had the inspiration for this story while playing Risk. So yeah.

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You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

–Albert Einstein

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Rule #1: No player is allowed to kill another player before conditions 6 to 9 are met, there is a 15 point difference between the players and the game-master has given a death-card.  
- 'The rulebook' chapter 3: Rules and regulations (page 21)

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**A game we played**

The sun was high up in the sky; but then again it always was in the sand filled lands of the desert. The suns' relentless battering on the few parts of his skin -that weren't hidden by the shadow his hat cast on him, couldn't keep his organ of touch from feeling the chill that came with the message he would receive in just a few minutes.

Standing on the balcony of his office, holding the warm steel railings with both his hands he leaned forward to look down in the street. Beneath him three children were playing a game of ninja, a game that he had played when he was young as well. There was a girl dressed in bed sheets- obviously a kidnapped princess. There was a gruff looking pirate standing in front of her, his sword (made of two sticks, held together by a string) keeping her saviour and the hero of the game at bay . In his life there weren't a lot of moments to quietly just stand and watch, so the few times he could make time to simply watch; he did.

The life of a Kazekage was a busy one, a stressful one. Especially in these days. How, as a Kage he knew one thing for certain. One thing in the world was a constant: the world was always changing. In the past three weeks there had been two new Kages introduced to the game of ninja the big five played. Despite knowing that change was inevitable, change of this magnitude was important, it signalled something.

**_The king is dead; long live the king._**

It was an old saying, but one that still rang true; even to this day. A shrill scream interrupted him and his hand moved to his kunai holster. Looking down; where the scream had originated from, he saw the girl acting the part of the damsel in distress with fervour. Her hand was outstretched to reach the hero of their game. The brave shinobi though was stabbed by a stick and fell to the ground. The pirate bellowed; laughing in evil tones before the ninja threw a pebble at him. The pirate's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the ninja to endure, to keep on going after being struck. But the ninja had and the pirate fell to his knees, a monologue was starting, revealing the pirate's tragic past, explaining why he had to kidnap the princess. After the pirate let out his last breath the ninja walked over to the princess and 'saved' her.

'If only all mission were that simple. '

The Kazekage felt a presence; a familiar one, next to him one of his messengers kneeled before talking. "Kazekage-sama." The messenger – Touka his name was if he had remembered correctly- greeted him.

Meanwhile under the balcony, the pirate got up- in a game of ninja no one really died. The three children exchanged their relics. One of the boys took the bed sheets and became a prince that had been abducted from his castle. The girl became a strong; courageous Kunoichi and the last boy; the one who had been the saviour before became the kidnapper. The three started their game anew.

On the balcony- letting go of the railings, he turned and nodded. The messenger was now allowed to start his debriefing. "We received intelligence from our spies in Konoha. At 1530 yesterday." The ninja paused; the Kazekage already knew what he was going to tell. First there had been the village hidden in the stone, next was village hidden in the clouds and now it would be the village hidden in the lead; Konoha. "A new Hokage has taken control."

The information was not shocking; but it was troublesome. Why would the Sandaime Hokage choose this exact time to step down from his position. The man had been a strong constant after the Kyuubi incident which had resulted in the death of the Yondaime, the man had been the only reason why he, the Kazekage, had not decided to attack Konoha after the Uchiha massacre. Hiruzen Sarutobi is a Hokage strong, was a Hokage strong, smart and cunning enough to defend his village in times of chaos, make it prosper even. Why would he step down? Why would the other Kages step down? A chill took hold of his skin- what did they know that he didn't?

"You are dismissed." He said realizing Touka was still kneeling before him. With a nod the chuunin was gone.

Something in the world was changing- the old guard was stepping down- leaving the theatre, making place for new stars to rise. For new legends to be spun. But the Kazekage looked down, three children were playing ninja so it wasn't all that bad. He turned around and left the balcony; closing the doors behind him and started to work on his third pile of paperwork today.

Three children were playing ninja; so it couldn't be _all_ bad, could it?


	2. Chapter 2

The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.  
- Florence Scovel Shinn

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Rule #2 Every player has 10 starting points.  
- 'The rulebook' chapter 3: Rules and regulations (page 21)

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**Ten years earlier**

A silver haired young man looked lazily out of his eyes. Well eyes might have been a mistake- he could only look out of one because the other had been covered up by his Hia-te. He always returned to this moment, the same bed, the same pillow, the same birds chirping outside of his window. Iit was always this exact moment that started it all. The moment in which the future was set in stone, where all the cards had been set and all that was left for him to do was play.

That was if he had no plans of his own- which was not the case. He had plans; big ones. This time it was his turn, so the Jounin got out of bed; removing the sheets of him he walked to the shower. He almost tripped over his sandals but safely made it to cubicle. In his bathroom was a small glass window, there was a crack in it that went from the upper left corner all the way down to the lower right corner; it was an almost perfect cut if it wasn't for the small bump in the middle.

Standing under the relaxing waterfall that was his shower Hatake Kakashi looked outside. From where he was standing, if he stood on the tip of his toes he could the great wall that surrounded Konoha. He looked outside hoping; even though the chance was slim, that this time there weren't plumes of smoke rising from the forest that stood beyond the great wall. That perhaps this time the Kyuubi hadn't been sealed inside a baby boy of just a few moments old. That this time was different.

But smoke was rising from the ashen trees. Flags were only half raised because the Hokage had died.

**_The king is dead; long life the king_****.**

The third Hokage had resumed his reign and in but a few short years it would end, quite gruesomely. Well; that was if he didn't interfere. Change the things that would come. Turning of the shower Kakashi walked out of the shower, picked up a towel and dried himself off.

Before long he walked out of his apartment and let the door fall into its lock behind him as it slowly closed. Despite the terrors that had taken place just the night before, or perhaps because of them, the village was buzzing with sound. People were chatting, gossiping. Bakers were selling their bread and butchers were selling their meat. It looked like a perfectly normal day if one chose to ignore the many, many signs of destruction around them.

The air was filled with the smell of ozone, the smell which was released by the huge amount chakra that had burned up the night before. Kakashi reached the one store which sold exactly what he needed. Well perhaps a store wasn't quite the name for the 'establishment' he was visiting. It was a small stand on the market. It was a unique stand; unique because it was the only stand which sold empty books. In Konoha, empty books were hard to come by. So it was no surprise that the amount of money that would be traded for the empty hardcover was not a small amount.

"Anything else, ninja-san?' The old man on the other side of the stand asked, his voice higher than you would expect from such a big man.

"No, that would be all. Thank you." Kakashi took the change money that giant of a man gave him and pocketed it away. On his way home he passed a young couple with a young girl in a stroller. It was not an odd sight yet Kakashi had to stand still for just a moment, kneeling down- making the young couple stop walking, they smiled as the famous ninja seemed to admire their daughter. Kakashi ruffled the girls pink hair before he looked up at the couple. "This girl, she's going to become special. What is her name?" he asked of them.

The woman blushed at the compliment, her husband's chest seemed to puff up with pride. It was not every day one of the most revered shinobi took notice of a child, let alone their child. "Her name is Haruno Sakura." he answered.

Kakashi nodded. "A strong name. It suits her." Having said his words Kakashi ruffled the girl's few pink strands of hair before resuming his earlier pace. He only had ten years- so despite his aloof nature there was no time to dilly-dally. Ten years before the game would start and there were preparations to be made. People to kill, people to hire, people to persuade. But before he could start on any of those fun things he had a book to write.

So when he entered his apartment he swiped everything of his table and laid the hardcover-folio sized book in the centre of it. He placed his finger on the cover and let his chakra carve out the title of the book. He had done this a dozen times before, so by now he hardly had to think about it. Slowly but surely words started to appear. After a while all the words were carved out and Kakashi lifted his finger.

He folded his arms in front of his chest. The letters looked as good as they always did; but this time he wanted to do something special so he placed his finger on the cover once more and released some more chakra into the book. Around the words he had carved circles started to unfold themselves and under the title a picture of the world map seemed to rise. Yes, this was more like it.

He opened the book to show the first page, it was empty. He walked to one of the few shelves with writing utensils on them. Grabbing the thinnest brush he had and a pot of ink Kakashi sat himself on his shaky chair and started to write.

Three days later he was finished and closed the book. His hands felt sore but his first part job was done. Grabbing the book and holding it under his arm Kakashi jumped out of the open window and  
travelled under the moonless sky that adorned the night.

Just two minutes later he opened a scroll that the Hokage himself had sealed. With a bit of blood and a speck of chakra he stored his book inside the scroll. Carefully he put the scroll back and walked out of the storage room.

Kakashi made his way to the gate, his pace was slow. His feet seemed to drag behind him while his hands were in his pockets. After a good while he reached the gates and greeted the guards. "Ah, hello Kakashi-san." The chuunin greeted him back. "You got a mission?"

"Maah; I guess you could call it that." Kakashi said while keeping his pace, walking past the guards.

"When will you be back?" The chuunin asked.

"Long-term mission, kind of secret."

The chuunin sighed. "I see. Guess you can't tell me anything, right?"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed , making the chuunin shiver- something felt off. "Hmm, Actually." Kakashi walked through the gates taking his hand out of his pocket, a kunai in his hand. "As the game-master I can tell you that the game has started." Those lasts words were accompanied by the sound of iron scratching iron. And then he was gone, leaves falling to the ground.

The chuunin stood up from behind his desk. Did Kakashi just declare himself a missing-nin? And what did he mean by 'the game has started'?


	3. Chapter 3

There are hundreds of paths up the mountain,  
all leading in the same direction,  
so it doesn't matter which path you take.  
The only one wasting time is the one  
who runs around and around the mountain,  
telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.  
–Hindu proverb

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Rule #3 No player is allowed to hire the Akatsuki until he or she has defeated one of the original ten.  
- 'The rulebook' chapter 3: Rules and regulations (page 21)

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A hundred birds made way for her when she entered the playground, not in the frantic way they did for other children. But in reverence, almost as if they bowed for her, grovelled at her feet. It was night still and the moon only painted the few clouds in a grey hue, contrasting the deep blue's that drenched the sky. Her pink hair flowed in the soft breeze, with a wave of her hand she moved the strands that were irritating her eyes.

Sakura made her way to the swings where the person she was meeting up with was seated in perfect stillness in one of the seats. She moved in her usual manner, her natural manner. Feet hardly touching the ground, the leafs under her soles didn't crunch, no sounds could've warned the boy of her presence. "So you've come?"

She would've been shocked if anyone other than this boy had felt her presence. But she knew him, and he knew her, it would've shocked her if he hadn't noticed her. "Of course I have." Sakura seated herself on the swing next to the boy and started to swing, back and forth. "You're not the only one that wants to have the advantage of the strongest start." In a blur Sakura jumped off the swing just as she had reached the highest point. Half a second later a kunai rushed through the very air Sakura would've occupied if she hadn't jumped. Instead it struck a tree, it's impact making the tree uproot, if for only just a centimetre.

"Nimble as always." A new boy said. "It is nostalgic, us three together like this. Perhaps next time we should-" The boy stopped talking, looking behind him. "Ah, it's already time."

Both Sakura, who had landed safely on the ground, and the two boys stopped what they were doing. Then quicker than one would suspect children to move, they vanished into the trees just as a shinobi, clad in foreign clothing, came in sight holding a small girl in your typical I-am-kidnapping-someone-style. Not far behind the rushing shinobi, whom quickly got closer to them, a Hyuuga followed in pursuit.

"So the first round has officially started. Good luck to the both of you, you boys need it." Sakura whispered before she cracked her knuckles and jumped high into the air. She spared one moment to look back at the faces of her two opponents in this game they played. She had prepared for this and thus they were caught in one of her traps. Sasuke glared at her while Naruto refused to admit defeat and struggled against the chakra enforced wires that kept them in place. But there was no way for either of them to break free, this first round would be hers. And so they knew that it rang true once again.

**_The king is dead; long live the king._**

The kidnapper was almost in reach, just three more steps and she would collide with him, she pulled back her arm and gathered as much chakra as she could, with her left hand occupied she used her right hand to snare the small girl that was being kidnapped in ninja wire. With a pull Hinata was freed from her kidnapped, not a second too soon as Sakura connected her fist with the kidnappers face.

What followed was described by Hyuuga Hiashi as the cellular disintegration of the Kumo-nin's body. "She didn't hold back on that one, now did she?" Naruto rhetorically asked before the ninja wire around him slackened. "It's too bad though, she gets to make the first move on the strongest hidden village."

"She won't win the game for a third time in a row." Sasuke said as the wire around him loosened as well. "We'll make sure of that."

Naruto looked up at those words. "Are you… You are! Oh yes, yes that would be perfect. Let her have Konoha."

"Exactly, she can have Konoha. We won't try to keep it from her. Let's invest our own time in getting Kumogakure and Iwagakure." Sasuke turned away from the scene of the two Hyuuga and Sakura.

"Maa, Sakura-chan. It's sad I have to say goodbye to Konoha. But I'll be back. And I always keep my promises, because that's my way of the ninja." Naruto said leaving his hiding place. In the corner of his eye he could see several Anbu rushing over the rooftops, yes Sakura had played the first round perfectly and there was nothing he or Sasuke could do to keep Konoha away from the pinkette.

But the game wasn't lost yet. For Konoha may have the best start; other villages had their own advantages. Naruto grinned as he thought about the two jinchuuriki that would soon be part of his own team. Yes, Kumo would be perfect for him.


End file.
